Tuesday, June 14, 2011 my father M.A. Medhurst went to be with the Lord. He was all a son or daughter could ask of a father. While it is impossible to capture the essence of such a great man in a few words I will give you a small sample.

Dad was a Korean War Veteran who spent most of his service time in Austria. He always told people he kept the Koreans out of Austria.

In 1965 he started a business in his basement. Not a part time business, but rather this was to be our livelihood. He had a wife, two very young boys and not much money. While we did not have a lot we always had all we needed and more love in our house than most. One day we literally spent our last dollar. Dad was the ultimate positive thinker. He was certain that a customer who owed us money would pay soon. So we went to the Dairy Queen and bought Dilly bars with the last of the money. His favorite saying was “Jehovah Jirah”—the Lord will provide. By the way....he did.

When my mother was bedridden with cancer and I was still a teenager he nursed her while maintaining his business at home. My mother passed away long before her time and after 27 years of marriage. Dad eventually would marry the world's most wonderful woman whom he was married to for the next 35 years. I gained a stepmother and a sister in the deal and it was the best deal that ever went down at my house.

My friends were always welcome and still are at the home where I grew up. My stepmother Odean and my father liked to see my friends as much as seeing me. How cool is that! When I was in high school they even kept certain foods around just because my friends liked it.

My dad sent my brother, myself and my sister to private colleges, all paid for by the business he started in 1965. In the end we collectively ended up with 3 bachelor's degrees, three master's degrees and a PhD.

My love of collecting came directly from my father. Every weekend we would go to the farm auctions in Illinois where we lived. Dad would spend about as little as possible and come home with a station wagon full of ...well...it wasn't always the finest material but sometimes he hit gold. Later he amassed some wild collections such as heavyweight boxing autographs, photos of midgets, a collection of material related to fallen evangelists, a room full of animal mounts and volumes of books. Once while still a teen I was at an auction with him and I bought all the stained glass windows out of a church...without telling him...surprise, surprise. He loved to check this website to see what I was posting.

The last several years of his life were tough as his body was ravaged by diabetes and other ailments. Odean gave up her freedom to care for him and loved him more than I can express. Her love was unconditional and amazing.

In early June 2011 we admitted dad to the hospital. Between bouts of extreme pain he cracked jokes and kept all of us talking about his wit. Sadly, we learned that the road ahead for him was bleak. We took him home from the hospital where he died as he desired, in his home surrounded by those who loved him.

Although he made his living machining parts for foundry machines, Maurice Medhurst made his life in the church. A devout follower of Jesus Christ, Dad was a long-time Sunday School teacher, deacon, and church worker. He served the Lord by serving his neighbor, and a neighbor was anyone who stopped by the shop or needed his help. He gave generously of his time and substance to many Christian endeavors.